UNITED NATIONS — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday strongly condemned an attack on a secondary school in western Uganda reportedly perpetrated by the Allied Democratic Forces group, a spokesman said.

The ADF rebels attacked the Lhubirira Secondary School in Mpondwe, Kasese district, on the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday night, killing at least 41 people, mostly students, Ugandan authorities said on Saturday. At least eight students remained in critical condition. Six students were abducted by the rebels.

Sylvester Mapozi, the town council mayor of Mpondwe-Lhubirira, where the attack occurred, said 39 students were killed at the school. "Within the community, as they (attackers) were going back, they also murdered two people, a female and a male. This is bringing up the number to 41."

Those responsible for this appalling attack must be brought to justice, said Farhan Haq, Guterres' deputy spokesman, in a statement.

The secretary-general extended his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and the government and people of Uganda, and called for the immediate release of those abducted, the statement said.

Guterres reiterated the importance of collective efforts, including through enhanced regional partnerships, to tackle cross-border insecurity between the DR Congo and Uganda and restore durable peace in the area.

The ADF is a Ugandan rebel group holed up in the jungles of eastern DR Congo. It is a branch of the Islamic State in Central Africa.

The rebel group is blamed for causing havoc in villages in eastern DR Congo. The Ugandan military and their Congolese counterparts launched joint operations against the rebel group in November 2021.

Agencies - Xinhua